Orange Have Its Eye On Garcia

Mike Sullivan

07/11/2004

The big man from Brentwood is having an All-Star type week at the Reebok ABCD camp. And college coaches are starting to notice John Garcia, a 6-foot-9 center/power forward as one of the finest here at the camp in Teaneck, New Jersey.<br><br>

Garcia is averaging 11 points and six rebounds per game. John has played so far six games. He has one more to go tomorrow morning. He has hit almost 70 percent of his shots from the floor and has rarely taken a bad shot.

Pittsburgh, Villanova, Connecticut, Rutgers, St. John's, DePaul, Virginia Tech, Richmond, Providence, Hofstra, and Seton Hall are recruiting Garcia hard. Yesterday, Garcia said he hadn't heard much from Syracuse or Cincinnati. But the Orange staff did watch Garcia today and could enter the recruiting sweepstakes with much more intensity.

Garcia has many offers. DePaul, Providence, Villanova, Seton Hall, Richmond, Virginia Tech, St. John's, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Villanova have offered. Each of these schools has been on hand at one time to watch Garcia play.

Garcia is expected to play with Chris Phillips' New York Elite at some events and also with the Long Island Lightning at other tournaments this summer. It's likely Garcia will have some company this summer as more coaches continue to evaluate his skills.